My Newest "Project" 1984 K5 Blazer (pic intensive)

[JeremyG]

Will try to keep the back-story short... friend of a friend needed a place to keep this truck "for a few days" because he busted the rear axle. He came a few days later with a "new" axle, took the old one off, then realized it was the wrong "new" axle.

A few days later, the guy who was helping him totally disappeared, and the same day, the owner of the truck got called to work in Florida. So off he went.

Fast-forward 8 or so months, I call him and tell him to get the truck off my property, and he says there's no way to do it, would I like to buy it? Well, not really... then he started telling me the story:

It has a high-end lift kit, a BRAND NEW Chevy "Crate" engine (350) with lots of little upgrades like stainless steel braided gas lines, edelbrock carb, a really nice air filter, nice Chevrolet valve covers, etc. etc. It also has a newly rebuild transmission AND transfer case. He has all the receipts for all of the work, over $5500 of work.

I really hadn't even looked it over very well, so I went out and looked, and the body is VERY straight, no rust to speak of, no dents, no previous bondo work, etc.

Ok, fine, but I'm not buying it... until he says, "I only want $900 for it". WOW! I say, "ok, make it $750 to cover storage costs and I'll buy it. SOLD.

The next day I find a running 1982 K5 with the correct rear end, and picked that up for $600. Now I have about 1.7 complete trucks, including a running "backup" stock 350 motor and a good x-fer case/transmission as a backup.

Anyway, my son (who just turned 16) and I are restoring it. We're doing it "right",tearing the entire interior out and starting over.

So, without further ado, here's some pics!

Exterior:
http://www.vegasphotopros.com/Vehicles/Truck-Rebuild/hires100703093336-6683/1087109738_DoeLm-M.jpg

http://www.vegasphotopros.com/Vehicles/Truck-Rebuild/hires100703093353-6684/1087109717_JaSHD-M.jpg

http://www.vegasphotopros.com/Vehicles/Truck-Rebuild/hires100703093416-6685/1087092666_ZzBKi-M.jpg



Interior prior clean-up:

http://www.vegasphotopros.com/Vehicles/Truck-Rebuild/hires100703093501-6688/1087093460_cUcrk-M.jpg

http://www.vegasphotopros.com/Vehicles/Truck-Rebuild/hires100703093518-6689/1087093368_FwZda-M.jpg

http://www.vegasphotopros.com/Vehicles/Truck-Rebuild/hires100703093538-6690/1087093705_FcuTP-M.jpg

So this is after a short afternoon of work.. the BEST thing about this truck is that the cap comes off, and there's a sweet roll bar that shows.

http://www.vegasphotopros.com/Vehicles/Truck-Rebuild/hires100703115000-6693/1087094604_yhH5i-M.jpg

[JeremyG]

And another wide shot with top off:

http://www.vegasphotopros.com/Vehicles/Truck-Rebuild/hires100703115835-6705/1087098013_DDNou-M.jpg

Here's the interior with most everything torn out:

http://www.vegasphotopros.com/Vehicles/Truck-Rebuild/hires100703115107-6694/1087095181_zNgKm-M.jpg

But before real "clean up"

http://www.vegasphotopros.com/Vehicles/Truck-Rebuild/hires100703115123-6695/1087095200_E9Ui3-M.jpg

http://www.vegasphotopros.com/Vehicles/Truck-Rebuild/hires100703115233-6699/1087096095_G9yUk-M.jpg

http://www.vegasphotopros.com/Vehicles/Truck-Rebuild/hires100703115402-6703/1087097264_pbqEq-M.jpg


All that work was done back in July, before it got WAY too hot to work on it. It sat until this week... (continued)

[JeremyG]

Just in the last couple days, we have done a TON of work...

Prepped everything in the interior for spray-on bedliner. This is power-washed, scraped, wire brushed, and 60-grit sanded (we are carpeting the wheel wells, so we didnt' bother taking ALL that really difficult-to-remove stuff off of there):

http://www.vegasphotopros.com/Vehicles/Truck-Rebuild/hires101110163917-6983/1087098168_WyL8d-M.jpg

http://www.vegasphotopros.com/Vehicles/Truck-Rebuild/hires101110163925-6984/1087098737_dognf-M.jpg

http://www.vegasphotopros.com/Vehicles/Truck-Rebuild/hires101110164002-6988/1087099466_p3Eqw-M.jpg

http://www.vegasphotopros.com/Vehicles/Truck-Rebuild/hires101110164011-6989/1087099867_xTGrh-M.jpg

http://www.vegasphotopros.com/Vehicles/Truck-Rebuild/hires101110164023-6990/1087099628_Szdmk-M.jpg


Now, the interior in primer:

http://www.vegasphotopros.com/Vehicles/Truck-Rebuild/hires101110173146-7005/1087103009_Pgyfe-M.jpg

http://www.vegasphotopros.com/Vehicles/Truck-Rebuild/hires101110173154-7006/1087103027_fhGME-M.jpg

http://www.vegasphotopros.com/Vehicles/Truck-Rebuild/hires101110173207-7007/1087103342_Sb6PE-M.jpg

http://www.vegasphotopros.com/Vehicles/Truck-Rebuild/hires101110173237-7008/1087103796_xDY8m-M.jpg

[JeremyG]

And now, with the spray-on bedliner. Note I couldn't wait to take the pics so this is only after about 10 minutes of drying. The photo really makes it look blotchy but it's not, and it's better now that it's more "cured".

http://www.vegasphotopros.com/Vehicles/Truck-Rebuild/hires101111153805-7018/1087106171_DG73r-M.jpg

http://www.vegasphotopros.com/Vehicles/Truck-Rebuild/hires101111153833-7020/1087106623_BTBq6-M.jpg

http://www.vegasphotopros.com/Vehicles/Truck-Rebuild/hires101111153914-7022/1087106866_HYe2j-M.jpg

I put 1 coat along the center of the front, even though we'll carpet here, just to help with noise deadening:
http://www.vegasphotopros.com/Vehicles/Truck-Rebuild/hires101111153856-7021/1087106563_qeM2S-M.jpg

[JeremyG]

As I worked today, I kept looking under the wheel wells and they were NOT up to par... so Ryan prepped and primed and I bought some Underbody paint and some of the old standby Rust Oleum Gloss Black... the underbody went in the wheel wells, the gloss black on anything else visible.

Here's before/after pics:

http://www.vegasphotopros.com/Vehicles/Truck-Rebuild/hires101110164046-6992/1087100238_frW8P-M.jpg

http://www.vegasphotopros.com/Vehicles/Truck-Rebuild/hires101111162552-7027/1087107519_4fhne-M.jpg

http://www.vegasphotopros.com/Vehicles/Truck-Rebuild/hires101110164131-6996/1087101135_Bs6CC-M.jpg

http://www.vegasphotopros.com/Vehicles/Truck-Rebuild/hires101111162634-7029/1087108318_jPLgw-M.jpg

http://www.vegasphotopros.com/Vehicles/Truck-Rebuild/hires101110164243-7002/1087102546_8svQV-M.jpg

http://www.vegasphotopros.com/Vehicles/Truck-Rebuild/hires101111162737-7033/1087109033_2E5pK-M.jpg

http://www.vegasphotopros.com/Vehicles/Truck-Rebuild/hires101110164155-6998/1087101888_FZytS-M.jpg

http://www.vegasphotopros.com/Vehicles/Truck-Rebuild/hires101111162702-7031/1087108682_PcnJW-M.jpg

And a few more "After" photos:

http://www.vegasphotopros.com/Vehicles/Truck-Rebuild/hires101111162619-7028/1087107957_EUSrD-M.jpg

http://www.vegasphotopros.com/Vehicles/Truck-Rebuild/hires101111162539-7026/1087107265_JVDsE-M.jpg

[JeremyG]

One more "after" of the wheel wells:

http://www.vegasphotopros.com/Vehicles/Truck-Rebuild/hires101111162725-7032/1087108808_Vosna-M.jpg


And FINALLY, Ryan really wanted to change up the roll bar. So:

Before:
http://www.vegasphotopros.com/Vehicles/Truck-Rebuild/hires101110173422-7011/1087104744_dshMt-M.jpg

Sanded, primed, and wet-sanded:

http://www.vegasphotopros.com/Vehicles/Truck-Rebuild/hires101111151815-7013/1087105186_6fomn-M.jpg

Finished, with Chrome paint:

http://www.vegasphotopros.com/Vehicles/Truck-Rebuild/hires101111153447-7014/1087105859_xWgwh-M.jpg

A couple close-ups, it's VERY shiny even without any sanding, but I'm thinking about hitting it with 2000grit wet and then some buffing compound...

http://www.vegasphotopros.com/Vehicles/Truck-Rebuild/hires101111153522-7015/1087105592_xEuvk-M.jpg

http://www.vegasphotopros.com/Vehicles/Truck-Rebuild/hires101111153602-7017/1087105832_wyhRN-M.jpg


So, tomorrow we're swapping the rear ends between the trucks, and probably going to go ahead and put the roll bar back in.

Still have some stuff to do:

- Replace dash pad (new one is on its way to us)
- Restore instrument panel trim piece
- Paint lower dash (probably the chrome paint, but we're still debating)
- Restore all interior trim and headliner (probably going to find a nice fabric or leather and wrap them all so they are material instead of painted metal)
- cut, upholster, and install rear panels (that go along the side of the bed)
- Carpet front half and wheel wells
- Replace all door and window seals
- Replace cap seals
- restore cap (remove windows and clean/service them so they slide perfectly, use spray-on bedliner on the outside of the cap and some sort of fabric on the inside.)
- restore headlight trim pieces
- buy/install billet grill
- install new steering wheel
- replace tail lights and turn signal lights with "clear corners" in the new Chevy style.
- find/replace all the emblems


In the spring we're going to have the seats completely re-done, but he has to save up the $700 to have it done :) Part of that will also be fixing up the interior door panels.

Then, time for the paintjob.... we're still debating about that, too. I really like the spray-on bedliner look and told him we could 2-tone it (it comes in black/white/grey/red/blue) but he wants a custom paintjob which is like $3000. Bedliner would cost us about $150 so there's going to be some arguments there. LOL

This has, so far, been a really fun project and reminds me of when I was 15 and my dad and I restored a 66 BelAire. :)

I'll post pics as progress is made, hope you enjoyed the story and the pics!

[Chris@Rvengeperformance]

very interesting, my 74 gmc truck still has a place in my heart.

[Zaroth]

Jealous. Always loved that year. I wish I had the funds to fix up my 90 Silverado like this.

[FeaRpb]

Very nice.

[JeremyG]

Jealous. Always loved that year. I wish I had the funds to fix up my 90 Silverado like this.

Dude, it's CHEAP...

Spent $140 on all the various spray paints, sandpaper and a sanding "sponge".
$250 on the new dash pad.
Carpet I will probably just buy 'by the yard", less than $100, or I may splurge and get a pre-formed piece for $350
Steering wheel, I couldn't believe how expensive.. like $250 for a decent one.

Of course the re-upholster of the seats isn't cheap, like $700 is my quote but I'm sure if I walk in with $500 cash they'll do it. :)

Paint is another story unless I can talk him into bedliner!

But yeah, it's gonna be pretty nice :)

[j2k4]

Nice to work on solid older iron, huh?

[Zaroth]

My problem is that I kind of... mounted a boulder in my truck haha. So the side of the bed looks like the hulk tryed to punt it off. Also my truck wont go into 3rd gear on my ATX :(. I'm too focused on the 3000 to spend money to get it fixed up, but once I get new turbos and a few goodies on the 3000 I'm going to do pretty much exactly what you did here. Looks like good work. I always wanted that exact truck growing up.

[JeremyG]

@j2k4, yeah, best of all, the parts are easy to find and cheap. Plus at least on this one, it's a truck so some "shortcuts" can be excused.

which brings me to Zaroth... when you decide to fix it up, body panels on these things are CHEAP. I can get a front quarter panel for $79. Yeah, under $100 for a full body panel. It's cheap and thin compared to stock but still...

[JeremyG]

My problem is that I kind of... mounted a boulder in my truck haha.

Dude, it's not nice to talk bad about your girlfriend and your sex life... mounted a boulder... badda-bing. Yeah I'll be here all week! :)

[j2k4]

@j2k4, yeah, best of all, the parts are easy to find and cheap. Plus at least on this one, it's a truck so some "shortcuts" can be excused.

which brings me to Zaroth... when you decide to fix it up, body panels on these things are CHEAP. I can get a front quarter panel for $79. Yeah, under $100 for a full body panel. It's cheap and thin compared to stock but still...

Best of all, it's EASY to work on.

A nice break from our other "4x4s", eh?

[TT4ME]

I've been looking into restoring a truck myself. I can't decide if I want big & tall or low & fast. I'll probably end up with a short box stepside 2wd with a blown big block.

Your project is looking good so far!

[mcshooter]

good looking job, it should be a easy to learn to paint it yourself, i would like to recommend to anyone else taking on a like job when you want to paint the underbody or floorpan use a product rust bullet. it can be sprayed on and used as a primer. good luck

[terrets]

Nice looking truck. Thatll be sweet when it is done. I always loved the big'ole Chevys.

[CoreyB]

Coming along nice. Looking into a 96 Indy Ram right now.

[JeremyG]

Still trying to talk him into doing Rust Oleum Truck BedLiner for the body - I figure it would be under $300 versus about $2000 for pro body work and paint. Lots less body work since the bedliner will hide minor stuff. Today I told him we'd spend extra on his sound system if we can do the bedliner... he's "pondering"> LOL

[j2k4]

Seriously decent idea for two reasons - unless the panels on it are super-straight and cherry, but still rust-free, they'll keep just fine under the rustoleum.

If by some miracle the sheet metal warrants it, think about paint.

Frankly, if the panels are that good, take 'em off and stash 'em - get some crappy stuff to throw on.

Make him prep the panels as if for paint, nonetheless. :D

[JeremyG]

yeah, this has been a Nevada truck all its life, so there's very little rust - what you saw in the photos is pretty much all of it. None at all on any body panels, and the panels are all nearly perfect. There's about 4 minor trouble spots that we could fix good enough to do the bedliner, since it hides the amateur work we'd be doing. We'd want a pro to do all the body prep if it were to be painted.

This sucks, I think he'll like it when he sees it, but right now he doesn't want to do the bedliner at all. This is "his" truck, but I'm fronting the money for him... I don't want to be the "demanding dad" on this project but I need to guide him towards bedliner! :)

[CoreyB]

You could do a cheaper and nicer job by buying a gallon rustoleum paint, thinning it and spraying it on. You would be surprised at how nice you can make it look. All for less than $100.

[JeremyG]

Man, thanks Corey.... I just spent 2 hours researching this and we may go the rust-oleum route. From what I can tell, it's no different than the single-stage paint that we were quoted $2900 to have done for us. It's very shiny when sprayed on (everyone recommends a $70 HPLV gun from Harbor Freight), and VERY shiny when wet-sanded and buffed.

I'm still very concerned about the time needed and our abilities to perform good prep work, but I'm thinking we'll give it a shot!

[DrGonzo]

Removed... :)

[JeremyG]

Well, turns out we're going "real" automotive paint. A friend of a friend asked to park his RV on my lot for a while, and he's a painter! He's going to do the final body work (we have to do most of it) and shoot it for us. He has all the guns, etc.ect. Of course we buy the paint and materials, but still under $400 for good base/clear which is cheeep!